a passion for you
by whatsbetterthanpie
Summary: It's barely a conversation, but Hermione walks away from it feeling like she started something. (Project Runway AU)


The passion for designing, for sketching and stitching clothing, comes as a surprise to Hermione. She never knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life but her back-up plan had always been dentistry, like her parents.

And it ends up being a bit of a shock for everyone around her when she forgoes applying to all the Ivy Leagues and goes to school for fashion.

There's something about creating something out of almost nothing and putting so much effort and emotion and blood and sweat and tears into a garment that someone can wear. It's special. Every single time.

Hermione makes it through fashion school with her passion still intact and a determination to make it in the industry.

It's hard, which is to be expected. Inspiration is rare and often fleeting, and she doesn't quite have the hang of the social aspect, which includes networking and collaborating. Which is unfortunate because collaboration is a huge part of the process of making a collection.

Hermione considers herself to be a fairly nice, open minded person with a well-rounded personality. Oddly, her reputation among the city's jewelry designers, makeup artists, photographers, and even other designers doesn't quite match with the image she has of herself. They call her unorganized, demanding and (she rolls her eyes at this one) bossy.

It's sort of on a whim that she decided to audition for Project Runway. She's tired of feeling stuck in a cycle so, with encouragement from Harry, she goes for it.

Filming her audition video goes off without a hitch. Her casting session, the one where the Tim Gunn is sitting at a table looking at her portfolio, examining the stitching on her designs, goes better than expected and she practically floats her way home.

Three weeks later, she gets a call telling her she's on the show and it's a dream come true.

It isn't until she's on the show, until they start filming and she meets everyone that she realizes how wrong she is. The dream isn't being on the show. It's not winning a couple challenges here and there before getting voted off on a garment you're "proud of". It's winning the whole goddamn thing.

This is difficult to imagine yourself doing when the judges are tearing apart your look in the first challenge, calling your evening gown, outdated and the construction, sloppy.

However, it's not the criticism that gets to her. What gets to her is the smug look on her model's face and Draco Malfoy's smirk when he's announced the winner of the first challenge. She can't handle how her rivalry with Draco followed her onto the show, all the way from school. And she can't deal with the glances between Draco and her model like they know each other, like they're both in on the joke.

Apparently, they do know each other. On their way back to the lounge, her model, Pansy (like the flower), practically tackles Draco. They hug like old friends, he whispers something suspicious into her ear, they kiss each other's cheeks and it's gross.

Or, Hermione thinks it's gross. No one else really seems to care.

She's just curious.

Hermione doesn't' work up the courage to actually ask Pansy about it until she wins the third challenge. She's is running on a high, they're walking next to each other silently so, the question kind of just ends up falling out of her mouth.

"How long have you and Malfoy known each other?"

Pansy stiffens slightly and Hermione is afraid that maybe she's crossed a boundary. But Pansy goes on to tell her that they've known each other since they were kids.

It's barely a conversation, but Hermione walks away from it feeling like she started something.

During the fitting for challenge number four, the unconventional materials challenge, Hermione is more relaxed than she's been in weeks. This might be due to the fact that she has immunity from winning the previous challenge. She's feeling confident.

Pansy must notice that she's not on edge, and maybe Hermione broke the ice with her questioning about Draco, because Pansy actually talks to her. At first, it's awkward. More awkward than the silent, "Yes, I'm ignoring you" fittings had been. But they find a groove. Sniping back and forth, bordering on flirting. It's fun.

Before they know it, a friendship is formed, though, slightly on the tentative side.

So, they start talking more. Then, "more" turns into "a lot".

Because, Pansy just seems to get her. Her designs, her vision, her drive.

They talk mostly about her designs. Pansy says she disagrees with the judges and she thinks every design, so far in the competition, has been stunning.

When Hermione's being interviewed for her second win, the eight challenge (location inspired), she's all "Pansy said this" and "Pansy recommended this". She doesn't notice that she talks more about her model than her design. She also doesn't notice that she blushes every time she looks into Pansy's eyes. And she doesn't notice how her heart starts racing when Pansy gets too close. She doesn't notice anything.

Funnily enough, neither does Pansy.

Maybe it's too easy for them to ignore it. The soft look Pansy has in her eyes, when she's attempting to calm Hermione's nerves before they go on the runway, obviously comes from Pansy's desire to be a good friend. Because that's what they are, friends. Friends who stare at each other's lips sometimes, who give each other hugs for definitely no reason, who vehemently defend the other whenever another designer or model dares make a snarky comment.

It takes Hermione winning a spot at Fashion Week and the fact that she has to go home, across the country, away from Pansy, to prepare her collection, to make them realize what they were too afraid to see.

That they'll miss each other, when this is all over.

Pansy goes with Hermione to the airport. To their credit, neither of them start crying until the very last second, the one before they kiss.


End file.
